[marc180]

okay, this is obviously a newbie wrenching Q.

i'm installing a new chain and i thought i could lose a couple of links. i was wrong. so, i added links back and now i have a 'kink' in my chain where i re-inserted a pin. it appears that the sideplates are tighter on the bushing than they should be. how did this happen and how can i prevent this from happening (i.e. fix my problem).

 

[Bianchi67]

Whenever I have a stiff link after installing a new pin, I flex the chain at the pivot slightly side to side (not the normal up and down direction).

I don't know if this is good or bad but it has always worked for me. YMMV

 

[marc180]

didn't work...

guess i'll see if it loosens up after a ride or two

 

[Dinosaur]

Beware...adding links to a chain that you cut too short is not advisable. It might work fine for awhile, but you take a chance on cracking a side plate. Been there, did that....broke a chain I lengthened and I went down hard, while climbing. Better off to bite the bullet and buy a new chain.

 

[MShaw]

What chain tool you usin? The Park tools have an extra set of 'teeth' inboard of the spot where you pushed the pin out that's used to loosen tight links. Move the chain to the inboard teeth and push very slightly to loosen stiff links.

If yer usin a Pedros, I can't help ya.

HTH

M

 

[rdolson]

Unlike the good old days, modern chains are not intended to re-use a pin that has been pushed through. You always need to use a new pin, installed per the mfg's specs, or one of the new connecting links, properly sized for your chain.

 

[C-40]

mistakes...

Modern chains cannot be safely lengthened, You should read the instructions for your chain tool. All have the ability to loosen up a stiff link, although this is no longer safe to do.

www.parktool.com/repair

 

[andulong]

What am I missing here?

I have read many times that the new narrow chains should not be lengthened after cutting too short. If so, why is it okay to break and re install the same chain with a new pin? Isn't that the same thing? I know you are not supposed to re rivit the same link more than once but that could be avoided couldn't it?

I have another chain question since we are talking about chains. I recently removed my chain and re installed it according to the Shimano instructions with a new rivit. I think the chain is now running in the opposite direction than it was before? No problems but should this be avoided due to direction of wear or anything?

 

[Dinosaur]

Modern chains

I have read many times that the new narrow chains should not be lengthened after cutting too short. If so, why is it okay to break and re install the same chain with a new pin? Isn't that the same thing? I know you are not supposed to re rivet the same link more than once but that could be avoided couldn't it?

I have another chain question since we are talking about chains. I recently removed my chain and re installed it according to the Shimano instructions with a new rivet. I think the chain is now running in the opposite direction than it was before? No problems but should this be avoided due to direction of wear or anything?

Modern nine and ten speed chains are narrow and the side plates can't take the pressure off removing and adding links. The side plates will eventually crack, and you can't tell by looking. The Shimano pin version is when you break the chain at a different location and add a new pin, although it is not absolutely necessary to take the chain off to clean it. Again-the pin or rivet won't break, it's the side plate.

I lengthened a Wipperman ten chain once. It broke while I was climbing. I managed to get it back together with a spare connex link and ride home. When I got home I inspected it with a magnifying glass. It had two other side plates cracked at different locations, and not at the place where I added the links.

Never heard of problems with rotating chain direction.

 

[shawndoggy]

Modern nine and ten speed chains are narrow and the side plates can't take the pressure off removing and adding links. The side plates will eventually crack, and you can't tell by looking. The Shimano pin version is when you break the chain at a different location and add a new pin, although it is not absolutely necessary to take the chain off to clean it.

Never heard of problems with rotating chain direction.

Right, but if you break a short chain in the middle and lengthen it with two of the special pins, why is that any different than just joining it together?

 

[C-40]

info..

The direction of the chain makes no difference and could actually increase the chain life, if it reversed. I personally would not lengthen a Shimano chain by adding another link with a replacement pin, but that's up to the user. Other brands don't offer that option.

Never hurts to read the manufacturer's instructions. According to Shimano, it's OK if you add links at another place, other than the original break point.


http://bike.shimano.com/media/techd...I_08V0C/SI_08V0C_13_v1_m56577569830612411.pdf

 

[C-40]

it's not...

Right, but if you break a short chain in the middle and lengthen it with two of the special pins, why is that any different than just joining it together?

Just be sure that you keep track of the direction in which the pins were pushed out. I could easily see people failing to do this (per the instructions).

I'll have to disagree with Dinosaur about the cause of chain failures. The example he sited was most likely one of the chains produced by Wipperman, with defective material. Side plate breakage is not often the cause of chain failure. It's most often a sideplate pulling off the end of a pin. If a pin is pushed out one side of a chain, but not pushed all the way out of both sideplates, it can be reinserted, but only one side will have any holding power and the other end could easily fail. That procedure was fine back in the days of protruding pin chains. They rely more on the protrusion to keep the chain together.

The real problem is that replacement pins don't have the same ability to hold the sideplates in place. The more you use, the greater the chance of a failure.

 

[Dinosaur]

You're right

Just be sure that you keep track of the direction in which the pins were pushed out. I could easily see people failing to do this (per the instructions).

I'll have to disagree with Dinosaur about the cause of chain failures. The example he sited was most likely one of the chains produced by Wipperman, with defective material. Side plate breakage is not often the cause of chain failure. It's most often a sideplate pulling off the end of a pin. If a pin is pushed out one side of a chain, but not pushed all the way out of both sideplates, it can be reinserted, but only one side will have any holding power and the other end could easily fail. That procedure was fine back in the days of protruding pin chains. They rely more on the protrusion to keep the chain together.

The real problem is that replacement pins don't have the same ability to hold the sideplates in place. The more you use, the greater the chance of a failure.

It was a Wipperman stainless steel chain that I bought on sale from Performance a few years back. Wipperman had a bad batch of ss chains. I stopped using the ss and went to the nickel

I will never try to lengthen a chain again my adding links. I had just gotten back on my bike after recovering from a broken hip. When my chain broke I went down hard on the hip I had fractured. Luckily I did not re-injure it. A bad way to learn a lesson.